The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 272

Chapter 241: Third Pregnancy

Caleb pov

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The car ride to the clinic was very quiet, and my hands gripped the steering wheel tight, as the morning sun hit the glass. Bella sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window, her fingers tapping a slow rhythm against her knee.

I turned the car into the clinic parking lot, parked in a spot near the front door, and turned off the engine. The silence came back, heavy and thick.

“We are here,” I said, my voice sounding deep in the small space.

Bella turned to me, and she gave me a small, brave smile. “I know. Let’s go see what the plan is.”

We walked inside the building together, the smell of clean floors and medicine hitting us right away. The nurse led us back into a small room first.

She had Bella step onto the scale to check her weight, and then she wrapped a black cuff around Bella’s arm to take her blood pressure.

Once that was finished, The nurse led us down the bright hallway and pointed to a door at the very end. I stepped forward, lifted my hand, and knocked twice on the heavy wood.

“Enter!” Dr. Okafor’s clear voice called out from the other side.

I turned the brass knob, pushed the door open, and stepped inside with Bella right beside me. Dr. Okafor looked up from her desk, her face lighting up with a warm smile when she recognized us.

“Caleb, Bella, come on in,” she said, standing up to greet us. “It is so good to see you both again, though I did not expect to see you quite this soon.”

“We did not expect it either, Doctor,” Bella said, walking into the room.

“Well, let’s see how far along we are first,” Dr. Okafor said, pointing to the tall exam table. “Bella, hop up here. We will do a quick ultrasound to check on everything.”

Bella sat up on the edge of the tall table, the paper liner crinkling loudly under her weight. She lay back, pulling her shirt up slightly. Dr. Okafor squirted some clear, warm jelly onto Bella’s stomach, which made Bella gasp a little from the cold.

I stood right beside the bed, holding Bella’s hand tightly.

Dr. Okafor pressed the plastic wand against Bella’s skin, moving it slowly. The monitor on the wall flickered to life, showing shades of grey and black. After a few seconds, a tiny, flickering white dot appeared on the screen.

Then, a fast, rhythmic sound filled the quiet room. Thump-thump-thump-thump.

“There is the heartbeat,” Dr. Okafor smiled, pointing at the screen. “It looks very strong. Measuring right around six weeks.”

I let out a breath I did not know I was holding. Bella looked up at the screen, her eyes turning very bright

13

Chapter 243 Mid Pregnancy

and wet.

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Dr. Okafor wiped the jelly off Bella’s stomach with a paper towel. Then, she walked over to her desk, pulled over her rolling stool, and opened a thick manila folder on her lap.

Her face changed right away, turning completely still, and serious.

Bella felt the shift too, because she sat up quickly, her fingers squeezing mine tightly right before the doctor spoke.

“High risk,” Dr. Okafor said, looking right at Bella, then at me. “The ultrasound today shows a healthy baby so far, but I am looking at your file from your last pregnancy with Grace. Given your history-the low-lying placenta, and the preeclampsia-we have to treat this new pregnancy as high risk from day one. Even though Grace is already two and your body has had time to heal, these specific medical conditions have a very high chance of happening again in a third pregnancy.”

Bella let out a slow breath, her fingers tightening around mine, as she processed the words.

“How elevated,” Bella asked.

“We will monitor closely from the start,” Dr. Okafor said, tapping her pen against the file. “Earlier than we did with Grace. I want to see you every two weeks minimum once we’re past the first trimester.”

Bella nodded her head, shifting into her business mode. She always turned her fear into a checklist that she could manage.

“What is the minimum restriction that keeps the baby safe?” Bella asked, leaning forward a little. “Not the maximum precaution, Doctor. The minimum that is actually necessary. I have a company to run, and I have two young children at home. I need to know what I am actually required to give up, versus what is just precautionary comfort.”

Dr. Okafor almost smiled at that. She looked like she knew Bella would ask exactly that.

“Reduced activity starting now, not later,” Dr. Okafor stated firmly, pointing her pen at Bella. “No travel after twenty weeks. Work from home is fine as long as it is sitting work, not standing meetings all day. I want you resting in the afternoons, genuinely resting, not answering emails with your feet up pretending that counts.”

“That is very specific,” Bella said, her eyebrows going up.

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“I know you, Bella,” Dr. Okafor said simply, her eyes softening with a fond look. They had been through enough together to know each other’s habits by now.

“Can I still walk around the garden with Tom and Grace?” Bella asked. “Tom likes to show me his bugs, and Grace is running now.”

“Short walks are fine,” Dr. Okafor said, checking her notes. “But no lifting Grace. She is too heavy for you now, Bella. Caleb will have to do all the heavy lifting.”

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